


The Littlest Things Matter

by ellorgast



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Manga), Sailor Moon - All Media Types
Genre: Complete, Crystal Tokyo Era, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-06-12
Packaged: 2018-02-04 08:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1772980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellorgast/pseuds/ellorgast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>King Endymion wants to bring a guest to court, but certain officials have a few misgivings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Littlest Things Matter

The King of the Earth did not have a reputation for being foolish. Indeed, he was known throughout the lands as just and level-headed, a paragon of strong leadership. He could silence the most combative politician with a few well-chosen words. He could mediate between warring countries while barely breaking a sweat. No, foolish was never a word that one associated with King Endymion.

Kunzite was careful to reiterate this before addressing the matter at hand. There were perhaps very few in the world, save the Queen herself, who knew as well as he that his liege had a sensitive soul beneath his commanding exterior, and he did not wish the King to feel that this was a smear against his character. There were a great many powerful, respected leaders who had their... quirks.

The King, still dressed in all his courtly finery, stared down his two men. It would do nothing at all to intimidate them--none of his Shitennou, it seemed, could be made to fear him, try as he might--but he would settle for making them mildly uncomfortable. “I do not see the problem, here.”

Nephrite was far less tactful than his commander. “It’s weirding people out, bro.”

Kunzite cleared his throat. “It _is_ a break in decorum.”

Endymion frowned. “She is not hurting anybody with her presence. Many have commented on how she brightens the atmosphere at court.”

His brunette guardian snorted. “It’s _court_. It’s not meant to be bright, it’s meant to be dreary and sullen and full of cranky officials shouting at each other over the cost of lumber exports.”

“She wants to see what her parents do. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”

“It is commendable of her to take an interest at such a young age,” Kunzite continued, his diplomacy hat still on, “but I wonder whether she is quite mature enough to understand the proceedings.”

Nephrite ploughed on, ever eager to be helpful. “She’s got the attention span of a gnat. Or did you miss the part this morning where she stole the Norwegian ambassador’s pen and played with it under the table for ten minutes?”

The King did not appreciate this insult in the slightest. His voice took on the same icy tone that could silence any pompous world leader. “She happens to be very bright for her age, if a little playful.”

Nephrite, of course, would not be silenced, although he sensed his liege’s defensiveness, and gave him a smile that was maddeningly friendly for someone who had the audacity to confront him over this matter. “I’m not saying she’s not the sweetest thing in Crystal Tokyo. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t just melt into a pathetic puddle of goo when they look down and see her being all adorable. We just think there should be some boundaries, is all. I mean, you sort of carry her around on your shoulder everywhere you go. She _can_ walk sometimes.”

Endymion muttered something about her tiny toes and how easily trampled they were.

“She is old enough to be on her own more, isn’t she?” Kunzite reasoned. “She does have the entire palace to herself, and the rose gardens...”

“If you’ll recall,” Endymion stated flatly, “the gardens are no longer safe for her to explore on her own, since that dog found its way in.”

“Forgive me. I had forgotten.” Kunzite cast a sharp glance at Nephrite before he could mention how much Endymion had overreacted about the dog incident. The dog had not been all that big, nor incredibly menacing. “Even so, she has plenty of chaperons who would be happy to make time for her when you are unavailable, besides Luna and Artemis.”

Endymion looked unhappy, but could not argue against this reasonable statement. Kunzite pressed further. “Give her some time to mature before thrusting her into court. It is hardly the most inviting environment at her age. Someday she will be required to attend all of them and wishing for the freedom to play elsewhere.”

His blue eyes refused to quite meet those of his guardians, and Kunzite knew the point had been made. It pained the Shitennou commander to see how unsettled his king was by this situation. It was his job to advise him in all areas of politics, however, even when it meant saying what nobody else could. “This does not mean you cannot play with her between meetings, as you always have. But it may be best, for now, if you do not involve her in official business.”

***

After approximately nine hundred and twelve years of marriage, Neo Queen Serenity knew her husband very well. Every shift in his step, every glance of his royal blue eyes, betrayed his heart to her. He had barely stepped through the door of their private quarters, his back a little too straight, his fingers on the doorknob curled just so, when she asked him what was wrong.

He told her. Or at least, he alluded to pieces of the conversation he had just come from, and she surmised the rest from the set of his shoulders. She took his hand tenderly in her smaller one. “Would you like me to tell her?”

The king threw his mask down on the table and rubbed his eye wearily. He was so rarely defeated in anything that he seemed not to know what to do with himself. “No. I should be the one to speak to her.”

Serenity smiled softly at him. “She is very fond of you. She will understand.”

“I know. But... ever since Chibi Usa began attending school instead of learning from private tutors, she’s been so lonely during the daytime. We are all so busy. I just...”

Just then, he turned his head, listening, and she heard it too. The familiar pad of footfalls outside their ornate white door. It swung open a crack, for all doors obeyed the castle’s tiniest mistress, and in peeked the subject of their sorrowful discussion.

“Your Majesty!” She exclaimed, upon seeing Endymion. Her pink eyes were wide with adoration. Her whiskers positively trembled with joy. With a happy squeak, she, barely indistinguishable from a ball of grey fluff, raced into the room, the bell at her neck jingling merrily. It was a sight to behold, to see the King of the Earth drop to one knee, hand outstretched. To see the kitten race up his sleeve and his arm sweep beneath her in one swift, practiced move. To see both their faces dip into a nuzzle that, were she a younger woman, Serenity may have felt slightly jealous of. The kitten joyfully touched her nose to his, her purr sounding from a distance like an eager race car motor. “I caught a spider!” She proclaimed happily. “And then I ate it!”

The change in her husband’s mood was unmistakable. His eyes lit up, his shoulders relaxed, the tension in his jaw gave way to a small smile. He rubbed his fingertip under Diana’s chin, exactly where she liked it, and it was clear to Serenity that no cat and her human had ever adored each other more.

Endymion had never grown up with pets. In fact, Serenity would hazard to guess that he had rather poor luck with them. The first time he had had any extended contact with domestic animals was when he had met Luna. Luna, who had met him with fear and suspicion, who always glared when he was nearby, maybe even hissed once or twice. She had warmed to him eventually, but it would be years before their relationship became anything other than cold or awkward. Artemis, when he arrived, never had any sort of hostility toward Serenity’s not-yet-boyfriend, but he’d followed Luna’s lead and kept his distance. 

Serenity recalled trying, once, to offset this unfair situation by presenting her boyfriend with a beta fish in a cute little bowl that could artfully sit in the middle of his glass table. Unfortunately, the darned thing had found it necessary to worsen the situation by dying within the week, through no fault of Endymion’s care. He had never mentioned it, but Serenity suspected that the trauma of losing his one and only fish so soon had been what kept him from ever trying again.

And then, one day, their would-be daughter had brought a friend with her to the past. A friend who was tiny and soft, who already knew and loved the king from her own time and was equally excited to find herself with a younger version. The bond was instant, and Serenity soon came to realize that while officially Diana belonged to Chibi Usa, in truth it was her father that she looked to.

Endymion glanced up at his wife, the small kitten tucked under his chin, and the Queen saw that he could not say what he needed to say to her. 

“Diana Fluffypants,” she began fondly, because being queen did not mean that she had to stop babytalking furry animals, “I would like to sit by the pool in the rose garden for a while. Would you like to join me?”

Diana’s pink eyes grew round. “The pool? With the glittery goldeny fishies? Oh, yes!” The kitten squirmed, and rather than allowing her to jump from such a great height, Endymion lowered her softly to the ground. She danced away from his hand, her bell jingling. “Let’s go! Let’s go now!”

The young cat was already through the door. Serenity lingered a moment beside her husband, clasping her hand in his. He squeezed hers, a sort of desperation in his tight grasp, and she laid a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Trust me, love.”

***

Court in the Crystal Palace proceeded as usual, despite the distinct absence of one tiny attendee. Politicians drearily fought it out with thinly-veiled threats, the world economy continued to chug along at its usual pace, and time decided to slow to a trickle just to prolong the agony. King Endymion was uncharacteristically silent through each debate, contemplating his coffee more than world affairs, and several times, Kunzite had to speak for him on the royal couple’s official stance on the taxation of luxury goods.

The King adjusted an immaculately pressed cuff on his sleeve. He was not prone to fidgeting, even through the most tiresome of meetings, but his hands had grown accustomed to stroking a kitten during these times instead. 

The prime minister of Oman was giving a longwinded speech, and every official in the glittering crystal room politely directed their attention at her. It was at this moment, when every head was turned away from them, that the Queen delicately touched her fingers to her husband’s wrist.

Startled out of his silent musing, he cast her a questioning glance. Her smile was soft, a secret meant only for him. His confused gaze followed her hand as it left his, and moved down to the frothy white layers of her skirt. Even when she was seated in her grand throne, the skirts fluffed enormously, a great white cumulus cloud that rolled over the edges of the throne down to the floor. Because of the table set before the couple, nobody but Endymion could see her shift the folds of her gown aside. There, curled in a nest of white chiffon as light as down feathers, nestled a small grey kitten. She made a sleepy chirp at being disturbed, so tiny that nobody else could hear, and tucked her nose beneath the tip of her furry tail. 

The King’s chest constricted, just a little. He could say nothing to his wife without appearing rude, but already he could tell that he did not need to. She smiled knowingly across the room, her eyes on the prime minister of Oman but the smile only for him. Beneath the table, their fingers intertwined, while a small kitten purred.


End file.
